All Geary County offices except the transfer station, will be closed on Monday, January 18, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, January 19.

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Junction City Public Works says there will be no trash / garbge pick-up by the City on Monday, January 18, due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

However, trash / garbage pick-up will be picked up the next work day. For example, the Monday pick-up will be on Tuesday, January 19th, and the Tuesday pick-up on Wednesday, January 20.

In order to ensure pick-up your trash should be set out by 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Carts should be removed from the curb-alley by the following day of their scheduled pick-up.

Ticketed as Manhattan’s biggest party, Kicker Country Stampede has just announced it’s complete lineup for 2016.

This year will feature an all-star lineup including Tim McGraw, Dierks Bently, Jake Owen, Sam Hunt, Chase Rice, Chris Janson, Cassadee Pop, Josh Abbott Band, and the Casey Donahew Band. Other acts include Ryan Hurd, High Valley, David Ray, Tucker Beathard, Courtney Cole, Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys and Sasha McVeigh.

This year’s show will be slightly different, with a Thursday show added and the Sunday show cut, running from June 23-25.

You can buy your tickets now at www.countrystampede.com!

On behalf of the Geary County Commission the Metropolitan Planning Commission held a public hearing Thursday night as part of the vacation of five platted streets in rural Geary County.

Dave Yearout, Zoning and Planning Administrator explained that the roads were platted as part of the Ackers subdivision located at the corner of Liberty Hall Road and Milford Lake Road.

“It was platted back in 1964, with the intention of seeing more intensive development there. That never materialized,” said Yearout. “That original plat had a mile and a half or so of public streets laid out that are just paper right now.”

By vacating the roads that property will go back to the adjoining landowners. The Vacation will only address the streets on the plat shown as Apache, Cheyenne, Nemaha, Osage and Pawnee Streets. It will go back to the County Commission for final approval.

Last week the Junction City Commission sent the special use permit request by Propane Central on behalf of Waters True Value to place a propane fueling station at Waters True Value in Junction City back to the Metropolitan Planning Commission with one directive, to add additional safety requirements.

One recommendation by the City Commission was to place the bollards that were included in the original plan closer together. During Wednesday nights MPC meeting Jim Waters, Owner of Waters True Value offered an alternative to the bollards, jersey barriers. The MPC accepted that idea.

“The planning commission has resubmitted a recommendation for approval, with a condition that jersey barriers, which are the concrete barriers that you see along the turnpike, be installed to protect around the propane tank,” said Dave Yearout, Planning and Zoning Administrator.

The recommendation will now go back to the city commission on February 2nd.

ABILENE- Law enforcement authorities Dickinson County are investigating a student who brought a gun to school on Wednesday in Abilene.

A weapon was brought to Abilene Middle School and left in a locker, according to a media release from the school district.

It appears the student did not intend to use the gun, according to the school district.

At no time was there a threat made, and students and staff were not in danger.

The friends alerted an adult, who then called police.

Law enforcement authorities have talked with the 13-year-old student involved. They tracked him down as he walked home from school and found the gun in his backpack, according to police.

Because this is a student matter, certain information must remain confidential, according to the school district

Any disciplinary action has not been reported.

According to a media release from USD 435, Abilene Middle School Principal, Ron Wilson, received a report from two students after school Wednesday that a student had possessed a weapon at school.

Mr. Wilson immediately reported this to the Abilene Police Department, as the student in question had already left for the day.

School administrators met with representatives from the Police Department before school Thursday morning, and it was confirmed by Abilene PD that the student in question was in possession of a gun after school on Wednesday.

The school and the police department conducted interviews with several students regarding the situation and determined that the student had been in possession of the weapon at school on Wednesday.   The school has, and will continue to follow established district policy and state law in this matter.

A news release and notification by email to parents of middle school students was sent as soon as the information was confirmed by the initial investigation.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that deputies responded to Old Milford Road and U.S. Highway 77 for an injury accident at 5:44 p.m. Wednesday.

A Dodge Journey driven by Brandon Causey, Milford, was hit from behind by a Dodge Grand Caravan driven by John Ritter, Clay Center. Causey was transported by Junction City Fire and EMS to Geary Community Hospital with neck and back pain.

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Deputies responded to the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and Rucker Road for a non-injury accident.

Benjamin Hall, Junction City, was stopped on Rucker Road facing west at a stop sign in a Toyota Camry. Steven Gee, Junction City, was approaching the intersection in a Hyundai Tiburon and collided with the rear of the vehicle driven by Hall.

The accident was reported at 8:38 a.m. Wednesday.

Today warm with highs in the mid to upper 50s according to the National Weather Service of Topeka. Cold front brings a chance for light snow Saturday night across northeast KS with minor accumulations possible. Much colder on Sunday with highs generally in the teens and wind chills below zero.

Today: Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 20s. West winds 5 to 15 mph.

Friday: Much colder. Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows around 19. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday: Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 30s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy with slight chance of snow. Lows around 10. Wind chill readings 7 below to 3 above zero.

Sunday: Colder. Mostly sunny. Highs around 17. Wind chill readings 8 below to 2 above zero.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows around 7. Wind chill readings 4 below to 6 above zero.

Martin Luther King Jr Day: Not as cold. Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 20s. Lowest wind chill readings 7 below to 3 above zero in the morning.

Monday Night: Not as cold. Mostly cloudy. Lows around 19.

Tuesday: Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 20s.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy with slight chance of rain and snow. Highs in the mid 30s.